TUNIS, September 23. /TASS/. The number of commercial vessels passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait reached 408 after the Ansar Allah rebel movement (the Houthis) took control of adjacent areas of Yemen, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works in the Houthi-formed government said.

According to the ministry, 408 vessels passed through the strait from September 11 to 21 "following the liberation of the western coastal areas," compared with 393 from September 1 to 10. This means that more than 40 commercial vessels are now passing through Bab el-Mandeb every day. "Navigation through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is proceeding smoothly and safely for international commercial vessels, with the exception of Saudi Arabian ships," the statement said.

Yemen has been locked in a confrontation between Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis since August 2014. Tensions escalated sharply in early September after Ansar Allah launched an offensive in the country's southwest. At the same time, the Houthis began rocket and drone strikes on Red Sea coastal areas and the outskirts of Taiz, seeking to cut routes to Mokha and advance toward the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait. On September 12, Ansar Allah Political Bureau member Hizam al-Assad told TASS that the Houthis had completed an operation to establish control over areas in western Yemen with access to the strait.